Nicaragua to kick off major upgrade of Punta Huete airport

Nicaragua is getting ready to kick off a planned upgrade of the Punta Huete military airbase with support from the Chinese government. 

Located in San Francisco Libre municipality and built in the 1980s, the airbase will be rebuilt and upgraded to an international airport.

Works were expected to start in July, but the necessary machinery and equipment only arrived from China this month, according to local daily La Prensa.

The machinery and equipment arrived at Nicaragua’s Corinto port, which is part of a newly inaugurated trade route between the two countries. 

Nicaragua established diplomatic relations with China two years ago and the countries have signed multiple cooperation agreements since.

Capex for the project is US$499 million and it will be provided by China through loans, which will reportedly be paid back in 15 years. 

Construction will take around 48 months and some 800 workers have been hired for the project.

The airport is expected to have an annual capacity of 35mn passengers. 

The runway will be 3km long and 60m wide, which will place the airport in the 4F category, with capacity to receive large aircraft (65-80m) and without weight restrictions, La Prensa reported.